MBA programs may be getting a run for their money: Kimberly Clarkson, a middle school teacher at Sidwell Friends, introduced business concepts to her sixth graders last spring. The students studied entrepreneurship as part of the global studies curriculum and developed their own social or environmental outreach business plans.

The sixth graders proposed several business ideas, including the following:

• A cattle ranch where the manure is converted into a source of fuel
• An internationally funded organization to buy back weapons from African militants and then melt them for other uses
• A microcredit that uses profits to fund charity organizations
• An organization solely focused on providing comfort items (toys, books, and games) to homeless children
• A play zone where animals in shelters could be brought to have time away from their enclosures
• A charity that provides financial support to families who have lost wage-earning loved ones in the drug-related violence in Mexico

To research and develop these proposals, students studied and discussed mission statements of established businesses and learned about real entrepreneurs, from children their own age to adults. They also interviewed entrepreneur Adolfo Rouillon, who co-founded Congelados del Sur SA, which develops and distributes high-quality frozen food in Latin America. He previously co-founded a leading Latin American company specializing in the development of e-business solutions and a nonprofit that helps companies manage their businesses in a socially responsible manner. You can read the students’ interview with Rouillon here.